Yujiulü Tuhezhen (;
pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...
: Yùjiǔlǘ Tǔhèzhēn) was the ruler of the
Rouran
The Rouran Khaganate ( Chinese: zh, c=, p=Róurán, label=no), also known as Ruanruan or Juan-juan ( zh, c=, p=Ruǎnruǎn, label=no) (or variously ''Jou-jan'', ''Ruruan'', ''Ju-juan'', ''Ruru'', ''Ruirui'', ''Rouru'', ''Rouruan'' or ''Tantan'') ...
from September 444 to 464 with the title of Chu Khagan (處可汗;
Rouran
The Rouran Khaganate ( Chinese: zh, c=, p=Róurán, label=no), also known as Ruanruan or Juan-juan ( zh, c=, p=Ruǎnruǎn, label=no) (or variously ''Jou-jan'', ''Ruruan'', ''Ju-juan'', ''Ruru'', ''Ruirui'', ''Rouru'', ''Rouruan'' or ''Tantan'') ...
: ''Ču Qaγan''
).
He was the son of
Yujiulü Wuti.
Reign
He inherited a war with
Northern Wei
Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei ( zh, c=北魏, p=Běi Wèi), Tuoba Wei ( zh, c=拓跋魏, p=Tuòbá Wèi), Yuan Wei ( zh, c=元魏, p=Yuán Wèi) and Later Wei ( zh, t=後魏, p=Hòu Wèi), was an Dynasties of China, impe ...
from his father but 5 years of his reign went relatively calm. In the winter of 448 and spring 449,
Emperor Taiwu and
Crown Prince Huang attacked Rouran together, but Tuhezhen eluded them and did not engage them. In the fall of 449, however, Tuoba Na, Wei general was able to inflict heavy losses on Rouran, and for several years, Rouran did not attack.
In the winter of 458,
Emperor Wencheng launched a major attack against Rouran, but considered abandoning it when his troops encountered a snowstorm. At Yuchi Juan's urging (arguing that a withdrawal would unduly signal weakness to Rouran), however, Emperor Wencheng continued, and while he was not able to deal a major defeat to Tuhezhen, a number of Rouran tribesmen surrendered.
During his reign, the last remnant of
Northern Liang
The Northern Liang (; 397–439) was a Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic state of China and one of the Sixteen Kingdoms in Chinese history. It was ruled by the Juqu (沮渠) family of Lushuihu ethnicity, though they are sometimes categorized ...
was invaded and
Juqu Anzhou
Juqu Anzhou (; died 460) is viewed by some historians as a ruler of the Lushuihu-led Chinese Northern Liang, Northern Liang dynasty. After the state's territory was largely seized by the Northern Wei in 439, and his older brother Juqu Mujian (Prin ...
deposed in 460. Tuhezhen made Kan Bozhou (
闞伯周) the King of
Gaochang
Gaochang (; Old Uyghur: ''Qocho''), also called Khocho, Karakhoja, Qara-hoja, Kara-Khoja or Karahoja (قاراغوجا in Uyghur), was an ancient oasis city on the northern rim of the inhospitable Taklamakan Desert in present-day Sanbu Town ...
instead.
He was succeeded by
Yujiulü Yucheng
Yujiulü Yucheng (; pinyin: Yùjiǔlǘ Yúchéng) (?–485) was ruler of the Rouran (464–485) with the title of Shouluobuzhen Khagan (受羅部真可汗; Rouran: ''Soyulabčin Qaγan''). He was the first Rouran ruler to adopt Chinese style era na ...
in 464.
Sources
*''
History of the Northern Dynasties
The ''History of the Northern Dynasties'' () is one of the official Chinese historical works in the '' Twenty-Four Histories'' canon. The text contains 100 volumes and covers the period from 386 to 618 CE: the histories of Northern Wei, Wester ...
'', vol. 86.
*''
Book of Wei
The ''Book of Wei'', also known by its Chinese name as the ''Wei Shu'', is a classic Chinese historical text compiled by Wei Shou from 551 to 554, and is an important text describing the history of the Northern Wei and Eastern Wei from 386 to 5 ...
'', vol 103.
References
Khagans of the Rouran
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